Dear 5th Grade Students & Families, I am excited to introduce myself as your new 5th grade teacher! This will be my eighteenth year at Donegal, but my second year teaching 5th grade. Prior to teaching fifth grade, I taught at the Donegal Middle School for four years. I then taught 3rd grade for the nine years, and fourth grade for three years. Each Fifth Grade team has a team name, and we are the Voyagers!
I would like to share some information about myself so that you can learn a little bit about me before you come to school. I am 49 years old and my birthday is on January 27th. I graduated from Penn Manor High School in 1990. I didn’t play any sports in high school, because I lived on a dairy farm and I had to help with the milking each day after school. After high school, I worked for several years, and then went to college when I was 27 years old. I received a Bachelor’s Degree (dual certification) in Elementary Education and Special Education in 2004 from Millersville University. In 2014, I graduated from Eastern Mennonite University with a Master of Arts in Education. I recently began another Masters program at EMU, in Trauma & Resilience. I am the oldest of six children; I have three brothers and two sisters. I never liked being the oldest, and I didn’t always get along well with my siblings. I guess that’s pretty normal. Now that we’re adults, we all get along pretty well. We all live in different parts of Lancaster County, so we don’t see each other very often. My wife (Amy) and I have been married for 22 years, but we dated for about five and a half years before we got married. We have two children. Our son (Rykan Maddox) is 15 years old and our daughter (Rowan Grace) is 13 years old. Being a wife and mother has been Amy’s main priority since they were born. I think that being a mother is the hardest job there is.
We love to do things as a family, especially if we can do them outdoors. We enjoy going for walks around our neighborhood, or on some of the local trails. We love the beach, and we love going to the Outer Banks. We also love spending time in the mountains. Some other things that you might not know about me are… · Favorite color: orange · Favorite restaurants: Red Robin, Five Guys, Tres Hermanos · Favorite foods: cheeseburger subs, shrimp, spaghetti pizza (from Rosa Rosa, near F & M), sauerkraut, black olives · Favorite candies: Snickers, Twix, Banana Laffy Taffy, Reese’s Pieces, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids · Favorite desserts: pecan pie, pumpkin pie, German chocolate cake, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies · I went to college (Millersville University) with Miss Bowers & we had a few classes together. · I love music & I almost always have a song in my head. Sometimes a word or phrase triggers a song & causes me to start singing it. · I love going to concerts. My favorite band is U2 & I've seen them live six times. · I used to sing in a band called “Thanks to Paula”. We haven’t played together in several years. · I love to read & wish I had more time to do so. · In 1996, I traveled around most of the United States in an old school bus. I’ve been to 31 of our 50 states! · In 2002, I spent 2 weeks in Romania. I would love to go back! · I have never had a broken bone & had stitches for the first time a few years ago. I hope this letter has helped you to get to know me better. I am excited to teach 5th grade, and am looking forward to getting to know each of you! I am sure that we are all nervous about the first day of school, but I promise to do my best to make it fun and exciting. Come prepared to learn, laugh, and LOVE 5th grade!

See you soon, Mr. Hess